While much of the Penn State team took December to travel back home and spend time with family during the holidays, forwards Aarne Talvitie (Espoo, Finland) and Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) traveled to British Columbia to play in the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Talvitie served as the captain of the Finnish team, which went on to claim the gold medal, while Barratt played a prominent role on the silver-medal winning American team.
"It was such a nice tournament," Talvitie said. "A lot of guys are there that you know and you're together the whole month. When the tournament starts, there were great games and we were fortunate enough that we were able to play in the final game and actually win the whole thing."
While it proved to be a physically-grueling tournament, in terms of the volume and difficulty of competition faced, head coach Guy Gadowsky praised the opportunity for both players to represent their countries.
"It is such a great experience for these guys," Gadowsky said. "To represent your country, and that's a really prestigious tournament, there's a lot you can take back from that to our program, for the future. I understand it's a risk, but it is one that we will support our student-athletes in that endeavor every chance we get."
Talvitie played an important role in Finland's upset over Canada in the quarterfinal round of the competition. Canada's dominance of the event in recent years is well-documented, and having home-ice advantage for this year's tournament made them considerable pre-tournament favorites to bring home the title.
But Talvitie's assist Toni Utenen's game-winning overtime goal gave Finland a 2-1 upset win. Subsequent wins over Switzerland in the semifinals and a 3-2 win over teammate Evan Barratt and the United States in the final enabled Talvitie and his team to lift the cup.
"It's hard to explain it," Talvitie said. "You barely even know how to describe it, and it was the best moment of my life so far, getting a chance to pick up the cup and celebrate with your team."
Between NHL draft picks and highly-touted prospects on an international level, the tournament provided considerable competition in each game.
Barratt, who was recently named a Hobey Baker Award Nominee, was impressed with seeing the level of competition that he faced on a nightly basis.
"Everyone at this level can play at a very fast speed," Barratt said. "At a tournament like that, they have guys that can play in the NHL in a year or two.
"The first couple games, you're getting your feet under you and you see how these guys can play, and your eyes are wide open and it's really cool to watch."
Beyond playing with some of the world's best young hockey players, Barratt enjoyed the experience of continuing to play with teammates that he has traveled with at the international level already, having played in the U-18 World Championships just a couple of years ago.
"It was fun catching up and hanging out with them," Barrett said. "Hockey-wise it was just a great experience, every game and every play you're standing there and just watching some very special players."
Gadowsky mentioned on Monday that he had spoken to Barratt about his experiences with the American team. While he mentioned the grueling nature of the tournament, he noted the exposure it provides Penn State on the international level with both players.
"What he told me was that it was just a really great experience, and he stressed a bit that it was pretty physically and mentally-grueling," Gadowsky said. "But he was very grateful for the experience, that's what he got the biggest take away from it."
Penn State captain Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) watched the tournament from home, and couldn't help but watch with pride at how well his teammates played, and the impact that appearing in a tournament like the World Junior Championships can provide for the program.
"I think if people didn't think we were solidified as a top program already, which I would say we probably are, that we had two guys in the World Junior Championship game and that's definitely a huge step," Berger said.
